Which Make Better Pets – Cats or Dogs?

How do cats and dogs compare on various measures of usefulness, popularity, bonding, cost of care, tractability, and environmental friendliness? The following studies and statistics provide answers to these questions.

Shared History with Humans – Dogs Were Domesticated First

Researchers have traced the origin of the dog to the domestication of wolves in China between 11,500 and 16,300 years ago. However, they suggest that dogs were probably used as food sources rather than companions initially (Pang et al., 2009).

Cats were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent at least 9,500 years ago, most likely because their rodent-catching abilities were beneficial for protecting stored food (Driscoll et al., 2007).

Bonding – Dogs Are Easier to Study than Cats

Dogs appear to bond with their owners much like human babies, showing happiness and courage in strange situations when their “parents” are present, and distress when a parent leaves. Putting dogs through the “strange situation test,” animal researcher Adam Miklósi of Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary, found that they behaved much in the same way as securely attached human babies would. Although Miklósi suspects that cats bond in a similar way, he was unable to persuade them to cooperate for the test because they found the laboratory setting too distressing (Douglas, 2009).

Popularity – Cats Have Surpassed Dogs as the Most Popular Pets

In recent years, cats have become the number one pet in many areas where dogs once predominated. Statistics provided by the Humane Society of the United States indicate that there are approximately 93.6 million owned cats compared to just 77.5 million owned dogs in the U.S., and according to the International Federation for Animal Health Europe, there are 60 million owned cats and 56 million owned dogs throughout Europe.

Although ownership statistics give some indication of how much cats and dogs are liked, it should be noted that cats are far more convenient, and many people who find cats and dogs equally appealing may choose cats over dogs simply because they don’t have time to walk a dog every day, can’t afford to pay the higher food and veterinary costs that dogs require, or live in small apartments that are not conducive to dog ownership. For these reasons, ownership statistics don’t necessarily indicate that cats are liked by more people than dogs.

Tractability – Dogs Are Easier to Control and Teach

The question of whether tractability is positively or negatively correlated with intelligence is up for debate. However, few would argue that most dogs are far more biddable and generally cooperative than most cats, learning human rules more easily and showing a greater motivation to obey them.

Animals such as dolphins, chimpanzees, and cats usually learn by emulating other individuals, whereas dogs learn more like human infants, through direct teaching. Cats can be taught using rewards in much the same way as dogs, but this requires more patience on the part of the trainer, as cats are less motivated to please (Douglas, 2009).

Cost – Cats Are Less Expensive than Dogs

According to the ASPCA, cat ownership costs approximately $1,035 for the first year (this includes food, insurance, spay/neuter surgery, shots and other routine medical care, treats, cat litter, and purchase of necessary equipment such as a scratch post).

By comparison, a small dog costs about $1,314 for the first year, a medium-sized dog $1,580, and a large dog $1,843. Regular day-to-day expenses such as food, health insurance, and medical check-ups tend to be higher for dogs, as do one-time expenses such as spay-neuter surgeries and emergency medical care, so both the initial year and subsequent care is always more expensive for dogs on average.

Usefulness – Dogs Can Fulfill More Functions

Dogs can do a lot of useful things for people, including drug and bomb sniffing, guiding the blind, pulling sleds, and finding avalanche victims. Both dogs and cats can provide their owners with significant health benefits, but dogs have the added benefit of forcing their owners to go outside and get some exercise (Douglas, 2009).

Cats have been used along with dogs as therapy animals, and cats have proven particularly therapeutic in prisons. However, the greatest historical use for cats has been rodent control. While this job was critical in the past, it’s not so important in modern times.

Eco-Friendliness – Cats Are Greener Pets Than Dogs

Studies of wildlife disturbance and predation, as well as statistics on the ecological footprints for North America’s most popular pets, indicate that cats are more environmentally friendly than dogs. For more information on this, see Environmental Impacts of Cats and Dogs.

Cats Versus Dogs: Which Is the Better Pet? (A Summary of Scores)

Winner of each round:

Shared History: Dogs

Bonding: Inconclusive

Popularity: Cats

Tractability: Dogs

Cost: Cats

Usefulness: Dogs

Eco-Friendliness: Cats

Outcome: Tie

For more cat articles, see the main Cats page. For more dog articles, see the main Dogs page.